Motivated

Today, I finally weighed myself for the first time since being pregnant. Ya, I know, Eli is 5 weeks old now, so what was the hold up? Well, we don't own a scale, so it just didn't happen. I wish I would've weighed myself right after he was born, just because I am curious how much weight I lost on that one day. But, otherwise, I was more focused on taking care of my little man, and it was just kind of a matter of curiosity.

Anyway, my weight was close to what I thought it would be! I've already lost more than two thirds of what I gained (about 30 pounds) while pregnant. And that has all been through nursing and walking, which I've been able to do pretty consistently. It probably helps that it has been crazy humid around here (shocking).

I have my 6-week postpartum check-up next week and after that, I should be cleared to do normal exercise. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I started thinking a lot about how I would get back in shape and I am going to start the Couch to 5K program. Basically, this program takes you from being a "couch potato" to running a 5K in 6 weeks. It's all about cycling between walking and running to build up your endurance. And it's only 3 workouts a week, which I think is somewhat realistic with a newborn.

I've never been a runner, and I obviously haven't done a lot of strenuous exercise in a long time (I stayed active with yoga, walking and water aerobics during my pregnancy) so I think this program is perfect for me. I'm still thinking about whether or not I am going to sign up for a 5K as a goal for the end of this program. It probably won't be right at the end of the 6 weeks, primarily because of logistics with Eli & Nick's training schedule. But we'll see.

I'm getting really excited about it all though! I downloaded a great running app on my phone and found a podcast of Christian music that tells you when to switch between walking and running. Now I just have to work on getting my booty out of bed in the morning before it gets ridiculously hot...and, maybe running with a stroller (once I'm cleared to run, of course). If I'm really crazy, I might even try running with a dog!

Obviously, I'm starting to feel more "normal". We changed Eli's schedule a little bit, and the last couple days were a little rough. But last night & today were pretty good and I'm starting to feel like my old, not sleep deprived self, ha ha. I guess that's where all this motivation has come from! I'll definitely try to update on my new workout, once I start it, so that I stay accountable.

One Month Old!

So I am a few days late with this, but Eli is one month old as of Sunday!

Trying to eat his hand

He looks really excited

Peeking over his sign

I totally can't believe it has already been a month since he was born! But I guess time flies when your life is in 3-4 hour increments of eating, sleeping and changing diapers. I can't deny that my sleep has taken precedence over blogging, since we're still in the process of getting on a good schedule.

Other than keeping his mommy awake at night sometimes (it's a good thing he's cute!), Eli is doing great! He has been more awake and content during the day and enjoys cooing and focusing on our faces, especially when we talk or sing. We are lucky enough to get a smile or a laugh on occasion too, although we're not sure how deliberate they always are. His Nonnie (Nick's mom) got a REALLY big smile from him during her visit though. He's also enjoying tummy time more and more and is a champ at holding his head up, as a result.

Showing off his skills

My big, strong boy

Nick starting taking one of the night feedings (which was the best idea EVER), so Eli will gladly take a bottle of milk. He also really enjoys bath time...until we take him out. It seems like he's growing longer mostly (he's almost too long for some of his PJs), although he's getting some little fat rolls here and there.

Somehow, he appears to be getting cuter by the second, although I don't know how that's possible. He is getting a whole bunch more personality though, probably due to the fact that he's awake more. It's hard because I want him to slow down with this whole aging thing and be a cute little bean forever (he loves to be all curled up), but I'm also excited for all the new things he will start doing as he gets bigger.

Happy 1 month baby boy!

Baby Explosion

Oh my goodness, it's like a baby bomb has gone off in my house! It's amazing how much stuff you have to have for a baby. I think we have officially outgrown our house, which makes it very good news that we'll only be here another 4-5 months. I absolutely can't wait to really make a room for Eli and actually have a place for everything.

The majority of the babyness is obviously consolidated to Eli's room- although he doesn't sleep in there yet, so really it's mostly a baby stuff storage area at the moment, as well as a place to change him. It's a little more homey than it was before, but there's only so much we can do with such a small room. And, like I said, we'll be moving anyway. We recently got our wonderful, amazing glider and that made the room reach capacity:

Glider, crib (full of stuff), full laundry basket


Changing table/dresser, diaper pail, various baby stuff

But, it's also definitely overflowing into the rest of the house. There is baby stuff everywhere!!!

Taking over our dining room:

Car seat & stroller

And our living room:

Boppy, swing and playmat

And our teeny, tiny bathroom:

Bathtub

And then, of course, there are the pacifiers and burp cloths in every room (because you can't be caught without one of those!), the bottles on the drying rack & the overflowing diaper bag. It's amazing how a 7ish pound child can take over completely!

Having a Newborn

Hallelujah, my internet is working again! It was totally out for the past 4 days. Annoying!

Add to that having a newborn, and there is very little time for blogging. It's amazing what happens when your life runs on 2-3 hour blocks between feedings. It's a miracle if I get anything productive done all day. Although I'd say snuggles and naps can be pretty productive!

But ya, nothing all that exciting going on other than trying to get into a routine. Thankfully, Eli's jaundice is completely gone, which means we don't have to go to the doctor until his 2 month checkup! It's a good thing we live so close because I feel like we were there every other day to get his levels checked. He is gaining weight like a champ (should be about 7 pounds now), and is an awesome sleeper. I usually have to wake him up to sleep, although he has his fussy moments, usually when I realllllly want to sleep, ha ha. He's also started taking a bottle once a day, which is nice because Nick can feed him & I get a little break.

My parents were able to come out and visit for about a week and were so incredibly helpful. I don't think my house has ever been so clean! And they got lots of pictures of and with Eli. I think they like him just a little bit! Nick's family is coming out in a couple weeks and we're so excited for them to meet the little man.

Eli also had his first trip to church, appropriately, on Mother's Day. He did awesome and slept the majority of the service. It was a great Mother's Day though with webcamming with family, doughnuts for breakfast, and a nice long nap.

We're still trying to figure out who the little man looks more like. Most people say he has his daddy's eyes, and looks like me. Here's a newborn picture of me compared to one of Eli:

Courtney (left) and Eli (right)

What do you think? My parents actually sent a picture of my sister when she was a newborn & the resemblance is uncanny! I'll have to get a picture of Nick as a newborn too.

I'll try to get on here again soon and put some more pictures up of my little stinkbug -he got that nickname after pooping repeatedly in his diaper right after we change him!

I'm Back!

So I totally fell off the blog-o-sphere, but I promise, I have a really good reason! Mere hours after our lovely post-graduation nap, my water broke at midnight after Nick and I went to bed, and our little munchkin was born at 1:50pm on Friday, April 22nd! It was definitely a Good Friday, ha ha!

Meet Elijah (Eli) Maxwell:

At birth, he weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces and is 19 inches long

Like I said, my water broke at around midnight and we took our time getting to the hospital since we knew we'd be there for awhile. Here we are about to head out:

38 weeks, 2 days

Then, we got checked into the hospital, where we learned that I would be put on pitocin because my contractions were inconsistent and not very strong. It was kind of a bummer because I planned on doing stuff like walking around, using the birthing ball & the tub. But with the pitocin, they had to keep me & Eli (so nice to not have to refer to him as "the baby" anymore!) on a monitor, which meant I was stuck in the bed.

The pitocin definitely did it's job and let's just say I'm not a fan. I pretty much had one contraction on top of another and I had horrible back labor too (I felt most of my contractions in my back). I had originally planned on unmedicated birth, but I definitely reached the point where I really wanted some meds. Unfortunately, I was past the point where they could safely give me them without it affecting Eli.

Thankfully, it was about time to push. Although, they had turned down my pitocin earlier to give me a little break and so I wasn't as effective with my pushing. So, they had to turn it back up, which was not fun. In total, I pushed for about 3.5 hours, but it was all worth it for this:

My favorite picture of Eli & I (so far, of course)

First family photo!

Sleeping with Daddy

It was totally by the grace of God that I got through all that. I did a whole lot of praying, and it was definitely the most painful thing I've ever been through. But I was totally on an endorphin high afterward and I would say that I remember that it was really painful, but not vividly.

Eli has been doing pretty well. We had some feeding issues at first, and he was a little jaundiced and skinny at his first check-up as a result. We got a lot of help with feeding though and we've had a light for him to help with the jaundice. He has another check on Monday, but as of Thursday, had gained back to his discharge weight (he gained 5 ounces in 2 days!) and his jaundice was on the way down.

So, needless to say, my life has been a little bit of a whirlwind for the past week. We are finally settling into a good groove of feeding, sleeping and diaper changes. It also helps that my parents are out to meet the little man. They are expert baby holders and are helping the house get in order as well so we can focus on feeding and eating and sleep.

Graduation!

Today my awesome husband graduated from the Captain's Career Course! He is now officially qualified to lead a company of soldiers. Sweet! We'll be sticking around Georgia for awhile so he can do some other courses, but this was the main reason we came to Georgia in the first place. It's crazy to me that it's already done. It seems like he just started back in November!

Us at graduation

It's a big accomplishment though, and I'm really proud of him. To celebrate his graduation, we took a nap, ha ha. Yep, we're that exciting.

Baby Belly Wednesday-38 Weeks

I am 38 weeks pregnant today! My due date is now only 2 weeks away, whoa! Although I'm very "motivated" to get this labor thing going. I'm not trying to make it terribly negative because it's not sooo bad, but let's just sad I'm glad the end is in sight! Still having a lot of the same discomforts as last week and lots of "false labor"- meaning I've had lots of random contractions without any real pattern or consistency. It kind of just feels like a tease at this point, so I'm getting antsy for the real thing.

I can't really imagine going another 2 weeks, much less any later. I'm trying a bunch of the natural things to induce labor, like walking, evening primrose oil and red raspberry leaf tea. I feel like there's at least some progress with the random contractions, but it would be nice if things became a little more consistent.

I got checked by the midwife today and my fundal height (height from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus) is measuring at 37 centimeters, which is perfect since I'm 38 weeks and it totally depends on the person measuring. The baby is still head down and I feel like I've definitely dropped. So now it's just a waiting game until real labor starts.

I feel like everyone is anticipating me going into labor at any second (which is entirely possible). A girl at youth group tonight said "whoa, you're really pregnant", ha ha. And somebody at the grocery store today told me I shouldn't be on me feet. I really don't feel that huge, but then looking at pictures, I definitely have the same reaction.

The baby is still doing great- the heart rate was 145 beats/minute today (it's been between 145-155 the whole pregnancy). The baby should be the size of about a leek- could be up to 22 inches long. And the midwife guessed today that the baby is around 7 pounds 2 ounces! She also predicted that if I go past my due date, it'll be over 8 pounds, eek! Ya, definitely praying it'll be sooner rather than later. The only real developmental milestone to report is that the skin has changed from pink to white because there is more fat over the blood vessels. That'll lead to some chubby cheeks!

Here are this week's belly pictures:

Being silly

Look at that 38 week baby belly!

There's a big baby in that belly!